Apparatus for crosslaying fiber webs

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for producing a substantially seamless cross laid material by depositing side-by-side segments of a web of staple length fibers between the piles of a two ply sheet material. The sheet and cross laid materials are fed into and out of the cross layer at a predetermined constant machining speed. Within the cross layer, the sheet material is trained through a carriage beneath an intermittently operated fiber drawn frame. The carriage is cyclically reciprocated in timed synchronism with the operation of the draw frame and includes a lost motion mechanism which is synchronously counter reciprocated to alternately and cyclically lengthen and shorten the effective lengths of multiple reaches of sheet material and cross laid material at the input sides of the carriage, respectively, so that during the forward stroke of the carriage the sheet cross laid materials are stationary relative to the carriage, whereas on the return stroke they are advanced relative to the carriage a distance substantially equal to both the length of material fed into and out of the cross layer during a complete cycle of carriage reciprocation and the width of the fiber web provided by the draw frame. Provision is made within the carriage for separating the plies of sheet material at the input side of the draw frame and for recombing them with the cross laid web imprisoned therebetween at the output side of the draw frame, so that the potentially disturbing and distorting effects of windage and the like are minimized.

1972 w. H. BURGER 3,689,349

APPARATUS FOR CROSSLAYING FIBER was !lled Oct. 23, 1970 4 Sheets-SheetI.

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P 5, 1972 w. H. BURGER 3,689,349

APPARATUS FOR CROSSLAYING FIBER WEBS Filed 00! 23, 1970 4 Sheets-Sneet 2p 5, 1972 w. H. BURGER 3,689,349

APPARATUS FOR CROSSLAYING FIBER WEBS 7 Filed Oct. 25, 1970 4Sheets-Sheet 3 I """UHIIMIH" i i P 5, 1972 w. H. BURGER 3,689,349

APPARATUS FOR CROSSLAYING FIBER WEBS Filed Oct. 23, 1970 4 Sheets-Sheet4 United States Patent Patented Sept. 5, 1972 3,689,349 APPARATUS FORCROSSLAYING FIBER WEBS William H. Burger, Neenah, Wis., assignor toKimberly- Clark Corporation, Neenah, Wis. Filed Oct. 23, 1970, Ser. No.83,282 Int. Cl. B65h 17/00 U.S. Cl. 156-439 22 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A method and apparatus for producing a substantially seamlesscross laid material by depositing side-by-side segments of a web ofstaple length fibers between the plies of a two ply sheet material. Thesheet and cross laid materials are fed into and out of the cross layerat a predetermined constant machining speed. Within the cross layer, thesheet material is trained through a carriage beneath an. intermittentlyoperated fiber draw frame. The carriage is cyclically reciprocated intimed synchronism with the operation of the draw frame and includes alost motion mechanism which is synchronously counter reciprocated toalternately and cyclically lengthen and shorten the effective lengths ofmultiple reaches of sheet material and cross laid material at the inputand output sides of the carriage, respectively, so that during theforward stroke of the carriage the sheet cross laid materials arestationary relative to the carriage, whereas on the return stroke theyare advanced relative to the carriage a distance substantially equal toboth the length of material fed into and out of the cross layer during acomplete cycle of carriage reciprocation and the width of the fiber webprovided by the draw frame. Provision is made within the carriage forseparating the plies of sheet material at the input side of the drawframe and for recombining them with the cross laid web imprisonedtherebetween at the output side of the draw frame, so that thepotentially disturbing and distorting effects of windage and the likeare minimized.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to crosslayers and more particularly to a method and apparatus for manufacturingmulti-ply, perpendicularly cross laid, nonwoven fabrics.

There has been substantial activity in recent years in connection withthe development of fabrics for single use disposable articles, such asclothing, bed and table linens, Wash cloths, towels and the like. One ofthe most important and commercially practicable results has been theadvent of cross laid, nonwoven cellulosic fabrics, such as thetissue-fiber laminates disclosed and claimed in Sokolowski et al. U.S.Pat. No. 3,484,330, since such fabrics have sufificient lengthwise andcrosswise strength for the intended usages, together with a hand,appearance, softness, flexibility, and conformability generallycorresponding to the more traditional cloth fabrics.

Various methods and apparatus have been proposed for the manufacture ofsuch fabrics and some, such as the one disclosed and claimed in BurgerU.S. Pat. No. 3,492,185, have generally satisfied the main commercialcriterion of maintaining the manufacturing costs at a level consistentwith single used disposability. However, to accomplish that, certaincompromises have been made, especially in respect to the appearance ofthe fabric. Specifically, the fabric has been formed by laying segmentsfrom one web generally side-by-side and crosswise, either on the bias orperpendicularly, relative to another web, but seams or areas of overlapwhich can general-1y be seen and felt on close inspection of the fabrichave been left between the adjacent cross laid segments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a primary object of the present inventionto provide a method and apparatus for high speed manufacture ofsubstantially seamless cross laid products. A more detailed relatedobject is to provide a method and apparatus for high speed manufactureof cross laid, multi-ply, nonwoven fabrics. An even more specificrelated object is to provide a method and apparatus for manufacturingsubstantially seam-less tissue-fiber laminates on a commercial scale.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatusfor manufacturing multi-ply cross laid products of the above mentionedtypes wherein the stresses developed in the sheet material that is fedinto and the cross laid material that is fed out of the cross layer areminimized. A more detailed related object is to provide a method andapparatus wherein sheet material is fed into and cross laid material isfed out of the cross layer at a constant and predetermined speed and yetwherein successive portions of the sheet material are stopped for acrosswise fiber laydown. A specific related object is to provide amethod and apparatus of the foregoing type in which successive portionsof the sheet material are alternately stopped and advanced in timedsynchronism with a cyclical reciprocation of a carriage beneath anintermittently operated fiber draw frame.

A further object of the instant invention is to provide a method andapparatus for manufacturing multi-ply cross laid fabrics, such astissue-fiber laminates, in which the cross laid fibers are drawn into aweb immediately prior to being laid down and wherein such web isimprisoned between upper and lower plies of a sheet material immediatelyafter being laid down so that the disorientation and distortion of itdue to windage and the like is minimized.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a methodand apparatus with which even relatively unskilled personnel canmanufacture substantially seamless, high quality, cross laid fabrics ona commercial scale.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of thepresent invention will become apparent when the following detaileddescription is read in conjunction with the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a cross layer constructed in accordancewith the present invention which illustrates the cyclical reciprocationof the carriage between its lefthand solid line position and itsright-hand phantom line position;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cross layer of FIG. 1 and illustrates adrive mechanism for synchronously counter reciprocating the carriage andthe lost motion rollers carried thereby;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken along the line 33 in FIG. 2 to showthe cross laying draw frame and its orientation relative to thecarriage;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view to illustrate in stop action form thatthe cross laid fabric is substantially seamless;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view which illustrates the manner inwhich the sheet material and the fabric are trained over the rollers andturning bars of the carriage Within the cross layer shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT While the invention willbe described hereinafter in detail in connection with a singleillustrated embodiment, it is to be understood that the intent is not tolimit it to that embodiment. To the contrary, the intent is to cover allmodifications, alternatives, and equivalents as fall within the spiritand scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Turning now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, thecross layer here shown comprises a suitably anchored frame 11 on which afeed roll 12 and a take-up roll 13 are rotatably journalled onrespective sets of brackets 14, 15 and 16, 17. A web 18 of elongatedsheet material, which for the illustrated embodiment is preferably a twoply material, such as creped wadding or tissue, is guided from the feedroll 12 into the cross layer by a frame supported roller 19. The crosslaid fabric 21 is guided from the cross layer on to the take-up roll 13by another frame supported roller 22. The take-up roll 13 is driven at asubstantially constant surface speed, viz, at a predetermined machiningrate, by a motor diagrammatically indicated at 23.

Within the cross layer, the web 18 is trained, as described hereinbelow,through and over a carriage indicated generally at 25. The carriage 25is mounted on forward and rearward Wheels 26 and 27 and powered by adrive mechanism indicated generally 28 for periodic reciprocation alongguide rails 31 and 32 between its solid and phantom line positionsbeneath a fiber draw frame 33.

The draw frame 33 is mounted on the frame 11 transversely of thecarriage 25 and its width is substantially equal to the length of thereach of the web 18- across the top of the carriage. Means such ascarriage operated limited switches or the like (not shown) are providedto switch the draw frame 33 on and off in timed synchronism with thereciprocation of the carriage 25 so that the draw frame 33 isintermittently operated to cross lay successive reaches or segments ofthe web 18. Specifically, as here shown, during the forward stroke ofthe carriage 25, i.e., as it moves from its left-hand solid lineposition to its right-hand phantom line position, the web 18 and crosslaid material are stationary relative to the carriage 25 and the drawframe 33 is switched on to cross lay that segment of the web 18 that isat the time extended across the top of the carriage 25. During thereturn stroke of the carriage 25, the draw frame 33 is switched olf andthe web 18 is advanced a distance substantially equal to the length ofsheet material 18 and cross laid material 21 that are fed into and outof the cross layer during a complete cycle of carriage reciprocation.While in operation, the draw frame 33 deposits on that segment of theweb 18 that is at the time positioned across the top of the carriage 25a web 34 of staple length fibers which are generally uniformly orientedperpendicularly relative to the machining direction of the sheetmaterial 18, and the width of the web 34 substantially equals the lengthof sheet material 18 and cross material 21 that are fed into and out ofthe cross layer during a complete cycle of carriage reciprocation. Thus,it will be seen that the resultant cross laid fabric 21 is substantiallyseamless, since there is little, if any, overlapping of or gaps betweenthe successively cross laid segments.

Typically, the staple length fibers 35 from which the web 34 is formed,i.e., the slivers, are guided into the draw frame 33 from a plurality ofstorage drums 36 by a frame supported back rest roller 37. As best shownin FIGS. 3 and 5, the draw frame 33 may suitably comprise a comb 38 forfurther increasing the uniformity of the orientation of the stablelength fibers or slivers 35 and a series of roller sets 39 forprogressively drawing them into the web 34.

In accordance with a primary feature of the present invention, tominimize the stresses developed in the web 18 and the cross laid fabric21, the web feed and take-up speeds (which are sometimes collectivelyreferred to herein as the machining rate or speed) are substantiallyequal and constant. Thus, when the cross layer is in operation andoperating at the machining speed, there is very little tensional loadingof either the web 18 or fabric 21, even though the web feed and fabrictakeup rolls 11 and 12 generally have substantial inertia and momentum.The cyclical stop and advance motion that is necessary for accuratecross laying of web 18 in the manner generally described hereinabove isimparted only to those portions of the web 18 and fabric 21 that are atthe time within the carriage 25.

To carry out this feature of the invention, included within the carriage25 there is a lost motion mechanism 41 for affecting the transitionsbetween the constant web feed and fabric take-up rates and theintermittent motion of the portions of the web 18 and fabric 21 withinthe carriage 25. The web 18 and the fabric 21 are fed into and out ofthe carriage 25 through the lost motion mechanism 41, which issynchronously counter reciprocated relative to the carriage 25. Withinthe lost motion mechanism 41, the web 18 and fabric 21 make respectivemultiple reaches of effective lengths that are alternately andcyclically lengthened and shortened as the lost motion mechanism 41 isreciprocated. The frequency for the synchronized reciprocations of thecarriage 25 and lost motion mechanism 41 and the speeds of suchreciprocations are selected so that during the forward stroke of thecarriage 25 the portions of the web 18' and fabric 21 within thecarriage 25 are stationary relative thereto thereby ensuring accuratecross laying of a segment of the web 18 by the draw frame 33. During thereturn stroke of the carriage 25, the portions of the web 18 and fabric21 therein are advanced by a distance A (FIG. 4) that is substantiallyequal to the length of the previously cross laid segment and to theamount of web 18 fabric 21 that are fed into and out of the cross layerat the predetermined machining rate during a complete cycle of carriagereciprocation.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3 and 5, in the particular embodiment here shown,the lost motion mechanism 41 comprises one pair of rollers 42 and 43,which extend laterally of the carriage 25 and which are mounted forreciprocation relative thereto, and another pair of rollers 44 and 45,which also extend laterally of the carriage 25 but which are stationaryrelative thereto. Typically, the first set of rollers 42 and 43 arejournalled at their ends on reciprocating blocks 46 and 47, and thesecond set of rollers 44 and 45 are respectively journalled at theirends on the rearward and forward carriage corner posts 51, 52 and 53,54. The web 18 is trained under the frame supported guide roller 19,around the reciprocating roller 42, to the carriage mounted roller 44.The fabric 21 is trained from the carriage mounted roller 45, around thereciprocating roller 43, to the frame supported guide roller 22.Accordingly, there are respective double reaches of the web 18 and thefabric 21 at the input and output sides of the carriage 25 which vary ineffective length in dependence on the positions of the carriage 25relative to the frame 11 and of the reciprocating rollers 42 and 43relative to the carriage 25. As here illustrated, the relative heightsof the rollers 19, 42 and 44, on the one hand, and of the rollers 22, 43and 45, on the other, are selected so that the double reaches of web 18and fabric 21 are each substantially parallel double reaches. Thus, toobtain the cyclical stop and advance motion for the portions of the web18 and fabric 21 that are within the carriage 25 while still feeding theweb into and the fabric out of the cross layer at the predeterminedconstant machining speed, the carriage 25 is reciprocated at twice themachining speed and the rollers 42 and 43 are counter reciprocated atone-half the machining speed.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that during the forward stroke ofthe carriage 25, a length of web equal to /2 A is fed into the crosslayer and the carriage 25 is advanced to the right by a distance A.However, due to the synchronized counter reciprocation of the lostmotion mechanism 41, the rollers 42 and 43 are advanced to the right bya distance of only A A, so that the distance between the rollers 42 and44 is decreased by A A while the distance between the rollers 43 and 44is increased by A A. Thus, considering the motion of the web 18 andfabric 21 relative to the carriage 25 in component form, there arecontributions of /2 A for the amount of web 18 that is fed into thecross layer at the machining speed, plus /2 A for the decreased distancebetween the rollers 42 and 44, minus A for the increased distancebetween the web feed roll 12 and the carriage 25; or a net result of nomotion at all. At the same time, the components of the fabric motionseen by the take-up roll 13 are A for the decreased distance between thecarriage 25 and the take-up roll 13, minus /2 A for the increaseddistance between the rollers 43 and 45; or a net motion of /2 A, whichis the motion that should be seen at the predetermined machining speedduring each half cycle of carriage reciprocation.

During the return stroke of the carriage 25, on the other hand, thecarriage moves to the left by a distance A and the lost motion mechanism41 counter reciprocates so that the rollers 42 and 43 move to the left adistance of only A. Accordingly, the distance between the rollers 42 and44 is increased by A A and the distance between the rollers 43 and 45 isdecreased by A; A. Considering the components of the web and fabricmotion seen by the carriage under these circumstances, there is acontri-' bution of /2 A for the amount of web fed into the carriage atthe machining speed, plus A for the decreased distance between the Webfeed roll 12 and the carriage 25, minus /2 A for the increased distancebetween the rollers 42 and 44; or a resultant advance of the web andfabric relative to the carriage 25 a distance A. Under the samecircumstances, the components of the fabric motion seen by the take-uproll 13 are contributions of A for the advance of the web and fabricrelative to the carriage 25, plus /2 A for the decreased distancebetween the rollers 43 and '45, minus A for the increased distancebetween the carriage 25 and the take-up roll 13; or a net advance of /iA, which again is the advance that should be seen at the predeterminedmachining rate.

As will be appreciated, the carriage 25 and the reciprocating rollers 42and 43 may be powered in a variety of different ways. It is to beunderstood, therefore, that the drive mechanism 28 illustrated in FIGS.13 is strictly exemplary.

With that in mind, it will be seen that to reciprocate the relativelylarge mass of the carriage 25 relative to the frame 11, the drivemechanism 28 comprises identical chain drives 58 and 59 which arecoupled to the opposite sides of the carriage 25 by respectiveconnecting rods 64 and 65, and driven through respective belt and pulleyarrangements 61 and 62 by a motor 63. Taking the chain drive 58 as beingexemplary, it comprises an endless chain 66 which is trained about apair of sprocket wheels 67 and 68 which are aligned parallel to the axisof reciprocation of the carriage 25 and spaced apart a distancesubstantially equal to the carriage stroke length A. As shown here, thesprocket wheel 67 is fixed on a shaft 69 which is journalled on theframe 11 and driven by the motor 63 through the belt and pulley drive61. The sprocket wheel 68, on the other hand, is spaced forwardly of thesprocket Wheel 67 and journalled on a stationary upright or post 71. Theconnecting rod 64 is pivotally connected at 72 and 73 between the chain66 and the carriage 25, so that the rotational motion of the chain drive58 is converted to cyclical reciprocation of the carriage 25. Of course,the rate of carriage reciprocation may be readily set at twice themachining speed by selection of the ratios of the chain drives 58 and59, the ratios of the belt and pulley drives 61 and 62, and the speed ofthe motor 63.

To synchronously counter-reciprocate the smaller mass of the rollers 42and 43 relative to the carriage 25, the illustrated drive mechanism 28further includes another pair of chain drives 76 and 77, each of whichrespectively comprises an endless chain 78 and 79 which is trained abouta pair of sprocket wheels 80, 81 and 82, 83 which, in turn, are alignedparallel to the axis of reciprocation of the carriage 25. The chaindrive 76 is powered by the motor 63, and power is transferred from it tothe chain drive 77 by a sprocket wheel 84. To this end, the sprocketwheel is fixed to the driven shaft 69 outboard of the sprocket wheel 67.The sprocket wheel 81, in turn, is journalled on a stationary post 85which is spaced forwardly of the driven shaft 69 by a distancesuflicient to ensure that the power transferring sprocket wheel 84remains in mesh With the chain 78 throughout the entire stroke of thecarriage 25. The sprocket Wheels 82 and 84 are fixed on a shaft 86 whichis journalled on a bracket 87 that extends forwardly from a rearwardcorner post 62 of the carriage, while the sprocket Wheel 83 isjournalled on a bracket 88 that extends rearwardly from a forwardcarriage corner post 54. The distance between the sprocket wheels 82 and83 is selected to equal one half the carriage stroke length A, and aconnecting rod 89 is pivotally connected at 91 and 92 between the chain79 and the mounting block 47 to convert the rotary motion of the chaindrive 77 to reciprocation of the rollers 42 and 43. The ratios of thechain drives 76 and 77 and the pitch of the sprocket wheel 84 areselected so that the rollers 42 and 43 are synchronouslycounter-reciprocatcd relative to the carriage 25 and one half themachining speed.

In accordance with one of the more detailed aspects of the instantinvention, relatively compact provision is made within the carriage 25for separating and recombining the upper and lower plies 95 and 96 ofthe web 18 before and after the cross laying operation of the draw frame33. As a result, the web 34 that is laid down by the draw frame 33 isrelatively quickly imprisoned between the upper and lower plies 95 and96 and, therefore, only briefly exposed to the potential disorientingand distorting effects of windage and the like.

To carry out this aspect of the invention, as best illustrated in FIGS.2 and 5, there are respective pairs of frictionally engaged rollers 101,102 and 103, 104 at the input and output sides of the draw frame 33 forseparating and recombining the upper and lower plies 95 and 96 of theweb 18. As here shown, the rollers 101, 102 and 103, 104 extendlongitudinally of the carriage 25 and are journalled on the carriagecorner posts 52, 54 and 51, 53 respectively. For directing the web 18from the roller 44 to the separating rollers 101, 102 and the fabric 21from the recombining rollers 103, 104 to the roller 45 there arerespective diagonally extending turning bars or man drels 105 and 106which are supported by the carriage corner posts 51 and 54.

The effects of this arrangement can be best understood by consideringthe paths followed by the web '18 and the fabric 21 through the carriage2-5. As has been previously noted, the incoming web 18 is trained aroundthe rollers 42 and 44 of the lost motion mechanism 41. From the roller44, the web 18 is guided around the turning bar 105 to enter between theseparating rollers 101 and 102. The upper ply 95 then passes around theroller 101, across a lower level of the carriage 25, around a guideroller 107 which is journalled on the carriage corner post 51 and 53,upwardly behind the rollers 103 and 104, and over the roller 103. Thelower ply 96, on the other hand, passes around the roller 102 and acrossthe top of the carriage 25 beneath the draw frame 33. Immediately afterthe draw frame 33 has deposited the web 34 on the lower ply 96, thelower ply 96 and the cross laid web 34 pass with the upper ply 95between the recombining rollers 103 and 104, so that the cross laid web34 is im prisoned between the upper and lower plies 95 and 96 Theeinerging fabric 21 is then guided around the turning bar 106 andtrained about the rollers 45 and 43 of the lost motion mechanism 41.

Of course, it will be understood that further operations (not shown)might be performed on the fabric 21 to per manently bond the upper andlower plies 95 and 96 with the web 34 imprisoned therebetween. Forexample, as noted in the aforementioned Sokolowski et al. patent,

there may be adhesive patterns on the upper and lower plies 95 and 96and a heated platen or the like for activating the adhesive to provide apermanent bond.

CONCLUSION From the foregoing it will now be seen that the presentinvention provides a method and apparatus which even relativelyunskilled personnel can employ for manufacturing substantially seamlesscross laid Products. It will be understood that the method and apparatusof the instant invention can be used to advantage for high speedmanufacture of superior quality, cross laid, non-woven fabrics which areparticularly well suited for single use, disposable articles.

I claim as my invention: 1. A cross layer for producing a cross laidmaterial, said cross layer comprising the combination of:

cross laying means for intermittently presenting at a discharge end apredetermined width planar web of substantially uniformly orientedstaple length fibers;

carriage means disposed adjacent the discharge end of said cross layingmeans for reciprocation relative to said cross laying means along afirst path that is substantially at right angles to the plane of saidweb,

lost motion means mounted on said carriage means for movement therewithand for reciprocation relative thereto along a second path that issubstantially parallel to said first path, feed means for supplyingelongated multi-ply sheet material at a predetermined constant machiningspeed,

means associated with said carriage means for separating at least two ofthe plies of said sheet material,

guide means included with said lost motion means and said carriage meansfor guiding said sheet material therethrough and past said cross layingmeans,

means associated with said carriage means for recombining said plies ofsaid sheet material with said web of fibers imprisoned therebetween, and

drive means coupled to said lost motion means and said carriage meansfor cyclically reciprocating said carriage means in timed synchronismwith the operation of said cross laying means and for synchronouslycounter reciprocating said lost motion means, so that during one halfcycle of carriage reciprocation the sheet material is stationaryrelative to the carriage means for accurate cross laying of a segmentthereof by said draw frame and during the other half cycle the sheetmaterial is advanced relative to the carriage means by a distancesubstantially equal to the length of sheet material supplied by saidfeed means during a complete cycle.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the length of the segment of saidsheet material that is cross laid by said cross laying means during saidone-half cycle of carriage reciprocation substantially equals the lengthof sheet material supplied by said feed means during a complete cycle ofcarriage reciprocation, whereby the cross laid material produced issubstantially seamless.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further including takeup means for acceptingcross laid material from said carriage means at said machining speed.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the width of the web of fiberspresented by said cross laying means substantially equals the length ofsheet material supplied by said feed means during a complete cycle ofcarriage reciprocation whereby the cross laid material produced issubstantially seamless.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said lost motion means includes atright angles to said second path first and second rollers which aremounted for reciprocation with said lost motion means relative to saidcarriage means and third and fourth rollers which are fixed to saidcarriage means, said sheet material is trained around said first andthird rollers in a substantially parallel double reach and said crosslaid material Tm trained around said second and fourth rollers inanother substantially parallel double reach, and said carriage means andsaid lost motion means are respectively reciprocated at substantiallytwice and one half said machining speed.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the width of the web of fiberspresented by said cross laying means substantially equals the length ofsheet material supplied by said feed means during a complete cycle ofcarriage reciprocation whereby the cross laid material produced issubstantially seamless; and further including take-up means foraccepting cross laid material from said carriage means at saidpredetermined machining speed.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said lost motion means includes atright angles to said second path first and second rollers which aremounted for reciprocation with said lost motion means relative to saidcarriage means and third and fourth rollers which are fixed to saidcarriage means, said sheet material is trained around said first andthird rollers in a substantially parallel double reach and said crosslaid material is trained around said second and fourth rollers inanother substantially parallel double reach, and said carriage means andsaid lost motion means are reciprocated with stroke lengths which arerespectively substantially equal to the length and one quarter of thelength of sheet material supplied by said feed means during a completecycle of carriage reciprocation.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the width of the web of fiberspresented by said cross laying means sub stantially equals the length ofsheet material supplied by said feed means during a complete cycle ofcarriage reciprocation whereby the cross laid material produced issubstantially seamless; and further including a take-up means foraccepting cross laid material from said carriage means at said machiningspeed.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said carriage means is disposedbelow the discharge end of said cross laying means, and said sheetmaterial makes a substan tially horizontal reach across the top of saidcarriage means in a direction that is at substantially right angles tosaid first path, whereby said web of staple length fibers is gravity fedfrom said cross laying means on to said reach of sheet material duringsaid one half cycle of carriage reciprocation.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein sheet material is fed in at aninput side of said carriage means and cross laid material is fed out atan output side of said carriage means in directions that aresubstantially parallel to said first path; and said carriage meansfurther includes between its input side and its top a first turning barfor turning the sheet material from the direction in which it is fedinto said carriage means to the direction in which it makes said reach,and between its top and its output side a second turning bar for turningthe cross laid material from the direction of said reach to thedirection in which it is fed out of said carriage means.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said feed means comprises a roll ofsheet material which is rotatably ournalled on one side of a stationaryframe for feeding said sheet material toward an input side of saidcarriage means at said machining speed, and further including anotherroll which is rotatably journalled on the opposite side of said framefor taking up at said machining speed the cross laid material that isfed from an output side of said carriage means.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the sheet and cross laid materialsare fed into and out of said carriage means in a direction that issubstantially parallel to said first path; said lost motion meansincludes at substantially right angles to said first path first andsecond rollers which are mounted for reciprocation with said lost motionmeans relative to said carriage means, and third and fourth rollerswhich are journalled on said carriage means, such that said sheetmaterial makes a substantially parallel double reach around said firstand third rollers and said cross laid material makes anothersubstantially parallel double reach around said second and fourthrollers; said carriage means is disposed beneath the discharge end ofsaid cross laying means, and said sheet material makes a substantiallyhorizontal reach across the top of said carriage means in a directionthat is at substantially right angles to said first path, such that saidweb of staple length fibers is gravity fed from said cross laying meanson to said horizontal reach of sheet material; and said carriage meansfurther includes a first turning bar between said third roller and itstop for turning said sheet material from the direction in which it isfed into the carriage means to the direction in which it makes saidhorizontal reach, and a second turning bar between its top and saidfourth roller for turning the cross laid material from the direction inwhich said sheet material makes its horizontal reach to the direction inwhich the cross laid material is fed out of said carriage means.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the width of the web of fibers fedon to said horizontal reach of sheet material during said one half cycleof carriage reciprocation substantially equals the length of the sheetand cross laid materials fed toward and from said carriage means duringa complete cycle of carriage reciprocation whereby the cross laidmaterial produced is substantially seamless.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the width of the web of fiberspresented by said cross laying means substantially equals the length ofsheet material supplied by said feed means during a complete cycle ofcarriage reciprocation whereby the cross laid material produced issubstantially seamless.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sheet material is a multi-plymaterial which is fed toward an input side of said carriage means in adirection that is substantially parallel to said first path, and saidcross laid material is fed from an output side of said carriage means ina direction that is also substantially parallel to said first path; andwherein said carriage means further includes a first means between itsinput side and said cross laying means for separating at least first andsecond plies of said sheet material, and a second means between saidcross laying means and the output side of said carriage means forrecombining said first and second plies wtih said web of staple lengthfibers imprisoned therebetween to form said cross laid material.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said carriage means is disposedwith its top below the discharge end of said cross laying means; atleast said first ply of said sheet material makes a substantiallyhorizontal reach across the top of said carriage means in a directionthat is at substantially right angles to said first path whereby saidweb of fibers is gravity fed from said cross laying means on to saidhorizontal reach; and at least said second ply makes a reach across saidcarriage means at a lower level thereof to be recombined with said firstply and the web thereon by said second means to form said cross laidmaterial; and said carriage means further includes a first turning barbetween its input side and its top to change the direction of said sheetmaterial from the direction in which it is fed toward said carriagemeans to the direction of said horizontal reach, and a second turningbar between its top and its output side for changing the direction ofsaid cross laid material from the direction of said horizontal reach tothe direction in which it is fed from said carriage means.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said horizontal reach is madebetween said first and second means whereby the exposure of said web toany disturbing and distorting effects is minimized.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the width of the web of fiberspresented by said cross laying means substantially equals the length ofsheet material supplied by said feed means during a complete cycle ofcarriage reciprocation whereby the cross laid material produced issubstantially seamless.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said lost motion means includes atsubstantially right angles to said first path first and second rollerswhich are mounted for reciprocation with said lost motion means relativeto said carriage means and third and fourth rollers which are mounted onand stationary relative to said carriage means, said sheet material istrained around said first and third rollers at the input side of saidcarriage means in a substantially parallel double reach and said crosslaid material is trained around said second and fourth rollers at theoutput side of said carriage means in another substantially paralleldouble reach, and said carriage means and said lost motion means arereciprocated with stroke lengths which are respectively substantiallyequal to the length and one quarter of the length of the sheet materialsupplied by said feed means during a complete cycle of carriagereciprocation.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the width of the web of fiberspresented by said cross laying means substantially equals the length ofsheet material supplied by said feed means during a complete cycle ofcarriage reciprocation whereby the cross laid material produced issubstantially seamless.

21. Apparatus for producing a cross laid material, said cross layercomprising the combination of;

cross laying means for intermittently presenting at a. discharge end apredetermined width planar web of substantially uniformly orientedstaple length fibers,

carriage means disposed adjacent the discharge end of said cross layermeans for reciprocation along a predetermined path that is substantiallyat right angles to the plane of said web,

feed means for supplying elongated sheet material in a directionsubstantially parallel to said path and at a predetermined constantmachining speed, means included within said carriage means for guidingsaid sheet material therethrough and for turning said sheet materialfrom the feed direction to a direction that is substantially parallel tothe plane of said web.

and drive means coupled to said carriage means for cyclicallyreciprocating it in timed operation with the operation of said crosslaying means at a speed such that said sheet material is substantiallystationary relative to said carriage for a predetermined portion of eachcycle of carriage reciprocation.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said cross laying means cross laysa segment of said sheet material during said portion of said cycle ofcarriage reciprocation and wherein said segment has a widthsubstantially equal to the length of sheet material supplied by saidfeed means during a complete cycle of reciprocation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,549,455 12/ 1970 Armstrongl56-440 3,364,094 1/1968 Rosler 156-440 3,108,028 10/1963 Sprunck156-440 X RALPH S. KENDALL, Primary Examiner C. WESTON, AssistantExaminer US. Cl. X.R.

